Blood Oath (episode)
For the Klingon custom; See: Blood oath. Dax is reunited with three old Klingons with whom Curzon swore a blood oath eighty years ago to take revenge on an "Albino." Summary Quark complains to Odo that a drunken Klingon named Kor is ruining his holosuite and Odo takes the man to a holding cell. Koloth, one of Kor's friends, comes to release him; however, when he sees Kor is still quite drunk, he tells Odo to keep him. Dax overhears Odo telling Kira about the incident and has Kor released. She reveals to him and to Koloth that she was Curzon Dax, or at least the symbiont inside her was. Kor and Koloth realize that another friend, Kang has set this meeting up on purpose Kang informs the other three that he has found "the albino," a man whose heart all four swore a blood oath to eat. However, while Kor embraces Jadzia immediately and Koloth slowly accepts her, Kang is skeptical of her involvement in the mission. He cites that Trill hosts have no obligation to honor past commitments and tells her that she is released from Curzon's oath. Confiding in Kira, Dax nonetheless feels obligated to fulfill it. Dax talks to Kor, who is as joyful as ever. His response to her desire to participate is, "Oh, of course you should come! The splendor of fighting and killing, a bloodbath in the cause of vengeance; who wouldn't want to come!" After a bat'leth duel with Dax, Koloth tells her that her presence will do honor to their cause. Kang remains adamant but Dax presses the matter. After all, Curzon was the godfather of Kang's son whom the Albino killed, and he cannot deny her right to vengeance. Finally, begrudgingly, Kang agrees to allow her to come but does not approve. Sisko beats Dax to the punch and comes to her quarters to tell her she may not have a leave of absence to kill the Albino. He does not understand the concept of murder in the name of vengeance. When Dax begs him not to make her disobey a direct order, he does not directly give her permission to go but does not stop her either. On the way to the Albino's hideaway, the Klingons and Jadzia discuss the logistics of their surprise assault. Koloth and Kor march out of the room triumphantly, but Dax stays to confront Kang. While the others may be blinded by their loyalty to Kang, she is able to see that the plan is doomed and demands to know why Kang wants to commit suicide. Finally, Kang reveals that when he first learned the Albino's location, he visited the system to see if it was true and was contacted by the Albino. The Albino offered Kang a "glorious" battle against forty of the Albino's best warriors and Kang accepted, believing that if he could not kill the Albino, he could die trying. Claiming Klingons embrace death far too easily, Dax helps Kang and the others come up with a new strategy. By using a disruptor field to disable energy weapons, they force the Albino's warriors to fight using traditional methods and storm the compound. Koloth dies during the attack and the Albino manages to mortally wound Kang, but Dax pins the Albino so he is at her mercy. He dares her to kill him believing she will not; she does not, instead allowing Kang the honor. "It is a good day to die," Kang utters before dying. Background Information *This episode, originally titled "The Beast", "reunites" three Klingons from the Original Series: Kor ("Errand of Mercy"), Koloth ("The Trouble with Tribbles") and Kang ("Day of the Dove"). *Ironically, Kor (John Colicos) is the only one of the three Klingons to survive the events of this episode, however, as of 2006, Colicos is the only of the three actors who is dead. *This episode marks the deaths of Koloth (William Campbell) and Kang (Michael Ansara). *William Campbell said of this episode it was his most difficult acting job, and one he would have liked to do again. *John Colicos reprises his role as Kor in season four's "The Sword of Kahless" and season seven's "Once More Unto the Breach". *Michael Ansara appears in DS9 again, as Jeyal in "The Muse". *The Star Trek: Enterprise episodes "Affliction" and "Divergence" explain why Kang, Koloth and Kor have ridges here. *Klach D'Kel Brakt, referred to in this episode, is later revealed to be the Klingon name for the "Briar Patch" seen in Star Trek: Insurrection (ENT: "The Augments"). *Colm Meaney (Miles O'Brien), Alexander Siddig (Julian Bashir) and Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) do not appear in this episode. *Kor's line "That's what you get for making a deal with the devil, Kang!" is rather odd, given that Kang said in "Day of the Dove" that Klingons do not have a devil. *The late Christopher Collins previously played Durg in "The Passenger". Links and References Guest Stars *John Colicos as Kor *William Campbell as Koloth *Michael Ansara as Kang *Bill Bolender as the Albino *Christopher Collins as Albino's Assistant References Baakonite; Bahgol; bat'leth; Blood oath; Breshtanti ale; D'k tahg; D'akturak; Dahar master; Dax, son of Kang; Dax, Curzon; Dayos IV; Galdonterre; genetic virus; gravitic mine; Klach D'Kel Brakt; Klach D'Kel Brakt, Battle of; Koranium; Korvat colony; kuttars; Markalian; QiVon; riddinite; Romulan Star Empire; Secarus IV; Secarus system; tetryon; tetryon radiation; Category:DS9 episodes de:Der Blutschwur nl:Blood Oath